Why is Al Roker trending? The Rock’s slimmed-down physique triggers meme fest online

Out of the blue, Al Roker's name started trending on social media this week, and it has nothing to do with the old broadcaster's decades of experience in television. Rather, it turns out that after Dwayne The Rock Johnson showcased his heavily slimmed-down body, fans have humorously compared the 69-year-old weather anchor to the Hollywood star.

The parallels have risen from Johnson’s impressive body transformation for his next project, A24, entitled The Smashing Machine. The 53-year-old action star, known for his muscular frame, has supposedly dropped about 60 pounds to portray the role of former MMA fighter and UFC pioneer, Mark Kerr.

Got eaten by Al Roker? pic.twitter.com/9Ant0R4xHW

— Johnny Applesneed 🍎 (@mcsneedo) September 1, 2025

According to The Independent, the biopic, directed by Benny Safdie, tracks Kerr’s growth in the mixed martial arts sport, including his fall into addiction and how his personal relationships ultimately fell apart.

As the meme storm spread, some noticed that Johnson’s new look was similar to Al Roker. Roker has been a familiar presence for millions of people in America since the 1980s as the weather and feature anchor on NBC’s TODAY show.

Roker has had several broadcasting accomplishments, winning multiple Daytime Emmys and holding several Guinness World Records for marathon weather coverage. He has not spoken publicly about the memes, but fans have been tagging him in posts that comically compare Johnson’s before and after photos with Roker’s photos.

A look into Dwayne The Rock Johnson's commitment to his new role

Dwayne Johnson made an emotional appearance at the 2025 Venice Film Festival for the world premiere of The Smashing Machine, which has reflected a significant deviation from the big-budget action hero persona.

“I was really hungry to do it,” Johnson said about the transformation, feeling a need to represent himself through roles that weren’t his traditional big-budget extravaganzas. The actor also talked about taking up challenging roles during the press conference.

"I had been very fortunate to have the career that I’ve had over the years and to make the films that I’ve made, but there was just a voice inside of me, a little voice that said, 'Well, what if I could do more — I want to do more and what does that look like?'" Dwayne Johnson added.

Dwayne Johnson says he felt “pigeonholed” by the industry before making Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine”:

“You chase the box office and the box office can be very loud and it can push you into a category … I’ve been scared to go deep and intense and raw until now.”… pic.twitter.com/Xq25zb8zHo

— Variety (@Variety) September 1, 2025

According to the Hollywood Reporter, for the actor, the project was an opportunity to draw upon his own life experiences and vulnerabilities to perform at a level with raw emotional capacity.

Johnson recognized the difficulty of escaping Hollywood's expectations in regards to the repetitive nature of box office franchises urging actors into specific genres of film performances within roles.

"A lot of times it’s harder for us — or at least for me, sometimes — to know what you’re capable of when you’ve been pigeon-holed," the actor remarked.

At this point, however, it's the comedic side of the internet that's generating buzz. What was intended to be a serious transformation for an intense biopic, has accidentally become a viral meme moment, bringing Al Roker back into the limelight for reasons no one expected.